The night felt colder as Ashar and Elara sprinted through the alleyways, their steps echoing off the stone walls like the ticking of a clock counting down to something inevitable. The weight of the pursuing force pressed against them, as if the shadows themselves were stretching and reaching for him. Every breath Ashar took seemed shallow, as if the air itself had thickened with dread.

Elara was moving faster than he was, her boots slapping against the pavement with a rhythm that was both practiced and effortless. She glanced over her shoulder at him, her sharp eyes always scanning, always alert. Ashar could barely keep up, his legs still shaking from the adrenaline of the chase.

"Keep up!"

She called, her voice urgent but calm.

"We need to lose them before we reach the open streets."

Ashar's mind was reeling.

"Who are they?"

He gasped, struggling to catch his breath.

"Why are they after me?"

Elara's eyes flashed, but she didn't answer right away. Instead, she darted down another narrow passageway, pushing against the damp, moss-covered walls that lined the city.

"They're part of a group called the Seekers," she said finally, her voice low and dangerous.

"They're the ones who hunt people like us. People marked by the Echo."

Ashar's heart skipped a beat at the mention of the Echo. He still couldn't wrap his mind around the idea that he was now tied to it, that something ancient and powerful had branded him as one of them. But the reality was undeniable. The mark burned on his forearm, its energy never truly fading, always lingering just below the surface, waiting to be unleashed.

"How do you know so much about them?"

Ashar asked, his curiosity mingling with fear.

Elara glanced back again, her pace never slowing.

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"I've had my own share of encounters,"

She said, her voice grim.

"They're relentless. And they'll stop at nothing to find us."

A cold shiver ran down Ashar's spine.

"And you? How do you... fight them?"

Elara didn't answer right away. She led him through a maze of crumbling buildings, their faded facades barely visible in the dim light. The scent of salt and old wood filled the air. It was a world Ashar didn't recognize, a place that felt as though it had been forgotten by time itself.

"Sometimes, I run,"

She finally said, her voice tight.

"But when I can't... I fight."

They turned a corner and were met with a high wall, ancient and worn by centuries of neglect. Elara approached it without hesitation, her fingers brushing over the surface, her expression unreadable. With a quick motion, she reached into her cloak and pulled out a small vial filled with a faintly glowing liquid. She uncorked it, and the liquid inside pulsed with an otherworldly light.

"You're marked,"

She said, her voice serious as she turned to face him.

"And that means they will never stop hunting you. We need to find answers before they find us."

Ashar's heart pounded in his chest.

"Answers? What do you mean?"

Before she could respond, a loud crash echoed from the direction they had just come from. Ashar spun around, his pulse quickening. The sound was too close, too familiar.

"They're here,"

Elara muttered, her expression hardening.

"Get ready."

Ashar's mind raced. His thoughts scrambled to make sense of everything, of the mark, the Echo, the hunters. But there was no time for answers. Only survival.

The sound of footsteps reached them, swift and measured. The Seekers were closing in. Ashar could feel it, the unmistakable sense of something powerful and dangerous pushing toward him, just beyond the edge of his vision.

Elara grabbed his arm, pulling him toward a narrow gap in the wall.

"Come on,"

She urged, her voice sharp.

"This way."

Without thinking, Ashar followed. He didn't know where this path would lead, but it felt like his only option. He could feel the shadows tightening around them, like a living thing, hungry and relentless.

As they squeezed through the gap, Ashar felt the familiar tingle of power rise within him. His mark flared, the energy surging through his body like wildfire. He wanted to resist it, to push it down, but it wouldn't listen. The Echo was awake—and it was urging him forward.

"Stay close,"

Elara warned as they emerged on the other side of the wall, into a forgotten courtyard. The air was thick with the scent of old stone and damp earth.

"The Seekers won't give up easily."

Ashar nodded, his heart racing as he followed her. But there was something else in the air now. Something darker. The ground beneath them seemed to hum with a deep, unsettling energy. It was as if the very fabric of the world was fraying, coming apart at the seams.

"Where are we going?"

Ashar asked, his voice tense.

"Somewhere safe,"

Elara replied.

"For now."

But even as she spoke, Ashar could feel the unmistakable weight of something drawing closer. The Seekers were near. And they weren't the only ones hunting him.